Children's Safety Act of 2005
Floor Speech
CHILDREN'S SAFETY ACT OF 2005 -- (House of Representatives - September 14, 2005)
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Mr. NADLER. Mr. Chairman, my amendment prohibits the transfer to or possession of a firearm by any individual convicted of committing a sex offense against the minor.
Under current law, it is illegal to transfer or sell a gun to anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than a year in jail. It is also illegal for any individual convicted of such a crime to possess a gun. For some misdemeanor offenses that, although punishable by less than a year in jail, are of a particular serious nature, we currently prohibit all transfers of guns or possession of guns by individuals convicted of such crimes.
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For example, we prohibit anyone convicted of a crime of domestic violence, whether a felony or a misdemeanor, from purchasing or possessing a gun. Shockingly, we do not prohibit the sale or possession of guns to people convicted of misdemeanor sex crimes against a minor. We should not treat child sex offenders any more leniently with respect to possessing guns than we do domestic abusers.
If Congress is prepared in the underlying bill to require rigorous, severe and intrusive registration for 20 years from persons convicted of a misdemeanor sex offense against a minor, and is prepared to require States to verify this information four times a year, then the offense is indeed of such a serious nature that a convicted sex offender against a child must not be allowed possession of a firearm.
A criminal convicted of indecent exposure, lewd conduct or molestation against a minor should not have access to a gun. These are misdemeanor offenses, but dangerous criminals convicted of committing a sexual crime against a child, even when such offense carries a penalty of less than a year, pose too great a danger to society if in possession of a firearm.
I urge my colleagues to support this amendment to close this loophole.
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